Page 84 of Venomous Lust
“Is it?” Khal’s voice was filled with danger as his lips hovered just above hers. “Then I’ll have to try my best in the coming days.”
“Why the coming days?” Hazel frowned, lust casting a fog of confusion in her mind. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going home.” He kissed her lightly, nipping at her bottom lip at the same time. “We’re going to live on Earth, together.”
Lucidity washed over Hazel like a cold rain and she stared at Khal in shock. “Earth?” The very word was like a mirage, a promised land she had held close to her heart for what felt like an eternity.
“You’re looking at the new Commander of the Eok forces on Earth.” Khal smiled again, that wicked, sexy, carefree smile that gave her a glimpse of an entirely different side to him. A side that was fun and warm.
Far from violence and fear. Far from pain and death.
“You would do that for me?” Emotions choked her and Hazel had to force herself to swallow. “I’m going to see Sally again.”
Khal nodded, then kissed her again. “She’s waiting for you,” he whispered against her ear, pulling her close, his arousal digging into her belly, making her wild with desire. “I contacted her the day I found you in my rooms. We received her message this morning, when we crossed the border back into the Ring’s boundaries.”
Her head was swimming and Hazel found she could barely breathe. Too much was happening, and she couldn’t grasp the entirety of it. “Does she hate me?”
“She spent the last three years hoping for an opportunity to take back what she said.” Khal kissed her again, just below her ear, and the sensation traveled down inside her skin, erasing the pain, the fear. The past. “You’re going to have your family again.”
Hazel pulled back. She locked gazes with Khal, her hands on his cheeks, feeling his tiny scars under her palm.
“As long as I have you, I will always have my family.”
Epilogue
The sun felt warm on her face and her lips stretched into a wide, genuine smile. Even though she had smiled every day for the past month, it still surprised her how good it felt, how real.
“See you tomorrow!” Sally shouted as Hazel turned back toward the meandering path leading back to her home.
Hazel climbed the steps to the large log home overlooking the hill, where she would be waiting for Khal to finish his work for the day. She paused, then turned to look down. The village was one of many that humans had established, with houses for each family unit, nestled comfortably together amid the vast wilderness of the North American continent.
Humans weren’t just surviving here. They were thriving, reclaiming their planet, living free of fear and oppression. Happy. Safe.
All thanks to the Eoks.
She watched as the blonde head of her sister disappeared into a cozy little house surrounded by flowers. Emotions gripped Hazel as she stared at the house Sally lived in with her new husband. They were getting closer, mending a past made of pain and suffering. That deep, raw wound was closing more every time they spent time together, every time they talked, every time they laughed.
“Are you planning on sleeping out here?” a familiar voice called from behind her and Hazel turned to see a tall, well-built Prussian blue alien climbing down the long, meandering steps from the large log house perched atop the mountain side overlooking the village.
Khal smiled as he approached, and Hazel couldn’t help the storm of desire rising inside her as she watched him move toward her, all masculine strength and feline grace. Earth had changed him, taken away that edge of cruelty in his eyes. He was still every bit the Eok warrior, commanding the security forces on Earth with a hand of steel, stern and demanding sometimes. But there was another side of him altogether that she was discovering more and more every day. One that laughed and teased, enjoyed life to the fullest.
His strong arms closed around her, and she laughed as Khal sweept her off her feet in one clean, easy move.
“How’s your brother?” Hazel asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I’m going to be an uncle again.” Khal pressed a long, deep kiss to her lips, and the heat in her chest traveled down through her body, lighting fires under her skin. “Arlen isn’t wasting any time!”
“Speaking of losing time…” Hazel let her fingers trail up Khal’s neck up to his skull, savoring each of the tiny bumps covering his skin.
Khal’s hand pressed her closer and his gaze changed. His eyes went to her mouth and when he kissed her again, there was no mistaking the intent behind it.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, my Little Mouse,” he chided against her lips, but there was that twinkle in his eyes again. That playful edge she was so smitten with.
“What if I want to play?”
His lips lifted in that breathtaking grin and he pulled her more closely against him, his arousal digging into her flesh, imperious and immediate.
“Then I’d say you’d better be careful what you wish for.”
Those Prussian blue eyes darkened and became heavy lidded. He kissed her again, but this time, it was different. This was the kiss of possession, heavy with the link that ran bone deep between them. Her own body responded eagerly, impatient for the pleasure that was sure to come.
As Khal climbed the steps all the way up to their home, Hazel knew.
This was her home, right here, in his arms. And she never wanted to leave.
The End